TEHRAN, Iran - Iran's oil minister has predicted the price of oil will rise to $200 per barrel in the near future, the official IRNA news agency reports.

Oil prices jumped to a record near $124 a barrel for the first time this week.

"The time when the price of oil is $200 a barrel is not far," IRNA quoted minister Gholam Hossein Nozari as saying.

He attributed the rise in oil so far partly to difficulties in production in Nigeria and said it was also the result of the dollar's weakening against other currencies.

"In fact oil has not been expensive, the dollar has been weak," he said.

Iran is OPEC's second-largest producer. Source: AP
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